Costa Mesa Mayor Jim Righeimer and Mayor Pro Tem Steve Mensinger have sued the city's police officers association, alleging the group and two other defendants intimidated and harassed them for political gain.

The decision by Costa Mesa's mayor, his wife and another councilman to sue the city's police association and its former law firm for harassment, intimidation, libel and other alleged damages is a highly unusual step and possibly unprecedented for a...

Against a backdrop of skirmishes between Costa Mesa's organized labor and its conservative council majority is a kind of war on words.
On one side is Mayor Jim Righeimer and his supporters, who in an effort to save the city money say they're fighting...

Debra Healy Deem
Debra Healy Deem, 58 of Laguna Beach passed away on August 28th after succumbing to injuries received in a tragic bike accident on August 27th 2013. Debra was born in St. Paul, Minnesota and grew up in Southern California. She received...

The Newport Beach City Council directed city staff about 11:20 p.m. Tuesday night to move forward with negotiating a contract to outsource the city's trash service.
A roughly two-hour discussion before the 4-3 vote highlighted two main opposing...

Balboa Peninsula resident Mike Glenn announced Tuesday that he intends to run for Newport Beach City Council in District 1 next year.
Prompted by the recent debate over whether Newport Beach should outsource its trash services to a private company, Glenn said he believes council members should listen more closely to residents.
"The communication is why they're there," he said. "They're elected to represent the people. Without that communication, what's the point?"
Glenn, 33, first took an interest...

At least 60 people rallied outside Costa Mesa City Hall on Tuesday night, holding signs that read "Crime is up. Got cops?" and "Support police, not political agendas."
The rally, organized by the grass-roots group Costa Mesans for Responsible Government, also known as CM4RG, aimed to support police and raise awareness for what members see as a looming public safety crisis, said the group's president, Robin Leffler.
"What we're really really concerned about is safety for our neighbors and safety for...

An Upland-based law firm being sued by two Costa Mesa City Council members is closing, according to a letter obtained Thursday by the Daily Pilot.
Lackie, Dammeier, McGill & Ethir "will be winding down and eventually close," according to the letter sent by partner Dieter Dammeier to one of his police association clients. It was dated Wednesday.
Dammeier also writes of a "mass exodus" of attorneys amid the recent "turmoil." It does not specify the timeline of the firm's dissolution.
Dammeier and...

Prosecutors last week raided a law firm being sued by Costa Mesa Mayor Jim Righeimer and Mayor Pro Tem Steve Mensinger, according to published reports.
The Orange County district attorney secured a warrant last week and searched the Upland office of Lackie, Dammeier, McGill & Ethir, the Voice of OC reported Tuesday.
The nonprofit news organization reviewed a Superior Court log showing that district attorney's investigators raided the firm Thursday.
Investigators left the office with boxes of...

Costa Mesa's police association responded this month to a lawsuit filed by two councilmen alleging the union, its former law firm and a private investigator conspired to harass and intimidate them for political gain.
Lawyers for the Costa Mesa Police Officers' Assn., called Mayor Jim Righeimer and Mayor Pro Tem Steve Mensinger's accusations "an insult" and an attempt to muzzle critics of Costa Mesa's City Council majority led by Righeimer, according to copies of Orange County Superior Court filings...

In a court filing last week, Costa Mesa's police union distanced itself from its former law firm by saying it wasn't involved in a plan that planted a GPS tracking device on a city councilman's truck.
The Costa Mesa Police Officers' Assn., law firm Lackie, Dammeier, McGill & Ethir and private investigator Chris Lanzillo are co-defendants in an August lawsuit brought by Costa Mesa Mayor Jim Righeimer and Mayor Pro Tem Steve Mensinger that accuses the trio of intimidation and harassment for political...

An Orange County Superior Court judge this month refused to hold Costa Mesa Mayor Pro Tem Steve Mensinger in contempt of court for revealing evidence that someone surveilled him, court records show.
Judge David Hoffer on Dec. 13 denied the contempt motion by the Costa Mesa Police Officers' Assn. asserting that Mensinger and his attorneys violated a court order by publicizing confidential allegations that a GPS tracking device had been placed on Mensinger's truck during the 2012 election season.
In...